Solely losing fat below the belt isn't possible since you can't reduce fat from just one area of your body. To reduce lower belly fat, you must lose total body fat. In addition to eating a sensible diet, exercise can help you burn calories and stimulate muscle tissue to promote weight loss. When your entire body starts slimming down, your lower belly will also reduce.

Cardio with High-Intensity Intervals

According to research findings published in the Journal of Obesity, high-intensity interval training is more effective in reducing belly fat than other forms of exercise. During HIIT, you speed up to vigorous cardio pace for about 30 seconds to two minutes and then recover at a moderate pace for about one to three minutes. Experts recommend this type of vigorous exercise for 75 minutes a week. You can incorporate intervals during most forms of cardio, including bike riding, jogging, jumping rope or pedaling on an elliptical apparatus.

Muscle-Strengthening Exercises

Strength training can make you lose body fat, including belly fat, because it increases muscle tissue. In turn, muscle tissue burns a lot of calories just to sustain itself, so your resting metabolism increases and promotes weight loss. Two to three times a week, stimulate muscle tissue throughout your body by working all your major muscle groups including your abdomen, arms, legs, hips, chest, back and shoulders. Include exercises such as bench presses, lunges, step-ups, pushups, crunches, planks, squats, lat pull-downs and dead lifts.

Lower Abdominal Exercises

As part of your strength-training routine, working your lower abs, or the lower portion of your rectus abdominis, can tone and strengthen the muscles under the fat. When your belly fat reduces, the muscle definition will show. Hanging leg raises can effectively target your lower abs. During the exercise, you're either hanging from a bar or ab straps or holding your body up by your forearms in a captain's chair apparatus. You then raise your bended or straight legs as high as you can. Other lower abdominal exercises include reverse crunches as well as leg scissors and leg circles while lying face-up on the floor.

Diet and Safety Considerations

A daily deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories can result in weekly weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds. In addition to calories burned through exercise, dietary changes can contribute to this deficit. Eating smaller portions, for instance, can reduce your caloric intake, as can choosing low-calorie foods over high-calorie foods. Water, frozen yogurt and air-popped popcorn have fewer calories than soda, ice cream and chips. Include the basic food groups in your diet, ensuring that you incorporate fruits, vegetables, low-fat or fat-free dairy, lean protein and whole grains. Also, before losing weight and starting to exercise, consult your doctor to ensure that your planned regimen is safe for your physical condition.